HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND RESPONSE TOWARDS STORM HAZARD IN WEST VANCOUVER,BRITISH COLUMBIA1

ABSTRACT: Human behavior and response towards storm hazard are examined in this study. One-hundred and twenty flood victims in West Vancouver, British Columbia, were administered a sentence completion test to ascertain how these victims behaved and responded to the flash flood of July 12, 1972. The sentence completion test consisted of 11 sentence stems. Seven of these dealt with the respondent's behavior toward the storm experience, and four with the issue of internal vs. external locus of control. Completions of the seven sentence stems at three time situations showed that West Vancouverites expressed the normal reactions of fear and anxiety before the storm; showed negative emotions during the storm; and displayed a feeling of mutual cooperation after the storm. Completions of the remaining four sentence stems revealed that West Vancouverites emphasized the importance of internal factors, viz., autonomy, drive and hard work, in controlling their lives. They recognized God as a benevolent - protective and almighty - powerful figure. Forty percent of the respondents did not believe in luck, while 8 percent regarded it as important in their lives. One might conclude that West Vancouverites could cope with natural hazardous threats better than those who rely on external factors in directing their lives.     

24孔板发酵法测定地表水和废水中粪大肠菌群的研究

对地表水和废水中粪大肠菌群的多管发酵法进行了改进。改进了初发酵方法,采用24孔板代替试管进行初发酵,复发酵方法保持不变。对环境中采集的23个污水样本采用24孔板初发酵法与多管发酵法进行比较,结果表明,两种方法相关性良好,两者在结果上无统计学意义的差别。采用改进的24孔板法进行初发酵有效节约了培养基、缩短了实验准备时间,简化了操作步骤,尤其适用于大批量的、污染严重的地表水和废水中粪大肠菌群的检测。     

Total estrogenic activity and nonylphenol concentration in the Donggang River, Taiwan

We report a survey on the occurrence and distribution of nonylphenol (NP) and 17β-estradiol equivalent quotient (EEQ) concentrations in Donggang River, Taiwan. Concentrations of NP were measured with a high-performance liquid chromatography/fluorescent system and EEQs were carried with an MVLN cell line. Concentrations of NP ranged from less than 93 to 511 ng/L; EEQs ranged from less than 0.16 to 8.64 ng-E2/L. Concentrations of NP were higher in the dry season than in the wet season, which was affected by a high flow rate. In the main watercourse, higher EEQ occurred in the wet season than in the dry season; rainfall may have flushed substances containing estrogenic activity. NP and EEQ concentrations occurred in seawater only in the dry season, especially high EEQ values, and were not detected in the wet season. The reasons are not clear at this moment. Furthermore, NP concentrations provided low contribution to the total estrogenic activity.     

Cytotoxicity of the exhaust gas from a thermal reactor of MSWI baghouse ash

Baghouse ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plant was heated from 25 degrees C to 800 degrees C under nitrogen in a fixed-bed reactor. The exhaust gas was passed sequentially through water, acetone and cyclohexane. The cytotoxicity testing of the three adsorbates was done with the MRC-5 cell line and the percentage cell survival was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5(3-carboxymethoxyphenol)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) analysis. The highest level of toxicity of the exhaust gas was observed at 500 degrees C. The total cytotoxicity of the three adsorbates at any treatment temperature was found to be a function of the sum of organic carbon (TOC), inorganic carbon (IC) and molecular chlorine (Cl(2)), of which, molecular chlorine was quantitatively the greatest.     

Bisphenol A occurred in Kao-Pin River and its tributaries in Taiwan

Bisphenol A (BPA), one of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals, was detected in water collected from Kao-Pin River and its tributaries. Results indicated that 59% of the water samples contained BPA. Concentrations ranged from less than the limit of detection (LOD, 0.037) to 4.23 μg/L. The mean concentrations were 0.16, 0.20, 1.02, 1.30, and 0.30 μg/L for sampling sites S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, respectively. Concentrations were not significantly different between high and low-flow periods in sites S2, S3, and S4. In site S1, concentrations in the high-flow period were significantly greater than during the lower flow period, and in site S5, BPA concentration in the low-flow period was significantly greater than in the high-flow period. The BPA mass flow rate in site S5 was greater in the high-flow period than in the low-flow period.     

Tributyltin distribution and producing androgenic activity in water,sediment, and fish muscle

This study investigated the concentrations of Tributyltin (TBT) in water, sediment, and fish muscle samples taken from Kaohsiung Harbor and Kaoping River estuary, Taiwan. TBT concentrations in water and sediment samples ranged from less than 18.5 to 34.1 ng Sn L^?1 and from 2.44 to 29.7 ng Sn g^?1 weight per weight (w/w), respectively. Concentrations in the TBT‐contaminated fish muscle samples ranged from 10.8 to 79.6 ng Sn g^?1 w/w. The TBT concentrations in fish muscle were higher than those in water and sediment samples. The fish muscle/water TBT bioconcentration factor (BCF) ranged from 590 to 3363 L kg^?1. Additionally, the water samples were assessed for androgenic activity with an MCF7‐AR1 human breast cancer cell line. The androgenic activity ranged from 0.94 to 3.1 ng‐dihydrotestosterone per litre water (ng‐DHT L^?1). Higher concentrations of TBT in water and sediment samples occurred in the dry season, but the androgenic activity had higher values in the rainy season.     

Evaluation on estrogenicity and oxidative hepatotoxicity of fossil fuel industrial wastewater before and after the powdered activated carbon treatment

There are 10 manufacturers who produce fossil fuel products in the Da-Hse Industrial District, Kaohsiung County, southwestern Taiwan. Before discharging the wastewater into the nearby aquatic environment, the pretreated wastewater from these manufacturers must be processed in a treatment plant which includes four major processing units: equalization, a primary clarifier, an aeration basin, and a final clarifier. In order to estimate the potential environmental risks of industrial wastewater from each manufacturer and the treatment efficiency of the powdered activated carbon treatment (PACT) system used in this wastewater treatment plant, in vitro bioassays for estrogenicity and oxidative hepatotoxicity were carried out using a stably transfected human breast cancer cell line, MVLN, and a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, HepG2, respectively. Estrogenic substances occurred in nine of 10 pretreated wastewaters from these manufacturers in which the relative luciferase activity ranged from 18.9% to 98.0% for 1-fold-condensed wastewaters corresponding to the concentration of the original wastewater. The estrogenicity was highest at the influent of the treatment plant and decreased through the treatment process. About 81% estrogenicity clearance was found through all processing units. On the other hand, oxidative hepatotoxic substances existed in seven of 10 pretreated wastewaters from these manufacturers in which relative TBARs activity ranged from 18.5% to 43.0% for 1-fold-condensed wastewater. The TBARs of influent samples apparently decreased through the processing units until the aeration basin, but abruptly rose in the final clarifier, which was a result of the addition of an active charcoal-retrieving agent with the molecular formula of (C(2)H(3))(n)CONHCH(2)N(CH(3))(3)Cl and which had high TBARs activity. No TBARs activity being found in effluent samples could be a consequence of allowing sufficient time for coagulation between the active charcoal and its retrieval agent which decreased the residual active charcoal-retrieving agent. We concluded that the industrial wastewater treatment plant using the PACT system in the Da-Hse Industrial District is suitable for removing estrogenic substances and oxidative hepatotoxic substances discharged from these industrial manufacturers.